Current Affairs, 19-23 May 2018 Exam View- Download PDF

Current Affair of 19-23 May 2018. Read Important Current Affairs for UPSC/SSC/Bank and other state exam

NATIONAL

Suresh Prabhu Launched Intellectual Property Mascot ‘IP Nani’

i. Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Suresh Prabhu launched the Intellectual Property (IP) mascot ‘IP Nani’. The mascot was launched during a conference on the National Intellectual Property Rights Policy in New Delhi.ii. The first and foremost objective of the Policy is “IPR Awareness: Outreach and Promotion”, aimed at raising awareness on IPR for school children to nurture creativity and the ability to innovate from a very young age.

Green Skill Development Programme Launched

The Union Environment Ministry launched its full fledged Green Skill Development Programme(GSDP)that aims to train over 5.5 lakh workers in environment and forest sectors in the country through 30 courses by 2021.

PM Modi Laid Foundation Stone of India’s Longest Road Tunnel in J&K

i. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is on a day-long visit to Jammu and Kashmir. During his visit, Prime Minister laid down the foundation stone of ‘Zojila Tunnel’ on the Srinagar-Leh National Highway in Leh. The 14.2-kilometre long Zojila tunnel will be India’s longest road tunnel and Asia’s longest bidirectional tunnel.ii. Prime Minister Modi also dedicated to the nation a 330 MW Kishenganga hydroelectric project from Srinagar. There are 7 functional NHPC power projects in J&K. The project has been built at a cost of Rs 5200 cr.

Madhya Pradesh Launches ‘My MP Rojgar Portal’

The Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, Shivraj Singh Chouhan has launched ‘My MP Rojgar Portal’ to provide jobs to youths as per their educational qualification, skills and interest and ensure availability of able candidates to employers as per the need of their business.
The portal was launched as a part of the ‘Ham Chhu Lenge Asman’ Mukhyamantri Career Counselling programme ‘Pahal’ in Model School of Bhopal. It was prepared by the Madhya Pradesh Skill Development and Employment Generation Board under youth empowerment mission.

SC approves draft Cauvery Management Scheme

The Supreme Court approved the Centre’s draft Cauvery Management Scheme for smooth distribution of water among four southern riparian states.

The scheme would deal with the issue of water share of the four states in different circumstances like normal and deficient water years in the Cauvery river basin.

The top court had modified the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal (CWDT) award of 2007.

Yeddyurappa resigns as Karnataka CM

The Karnataka government led by B.S. Yeddyurappa resigned before facing a crucial trust vote in the assembly.

The floor test was to be conducted after Congress-JD (S) alliance claimed the right to form the government on the basis of the 117 seats it had.

BJP with 104 seats, was eight short of the majority-mark of 111.

INTERNATIONAL

SCO Cultural Ministers’ Meeting Held in Sanya, China

India take part of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization culture ministers’ meet for the first time with Mahesh Sharma confirming his attendance at the conference in China.
India became a full member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in June 2017 during the SCO Heads of State Summit in Astana, Kazakhstan.

Himanta elected Vice-President of BAC

The President of Badminton Association of India (BAI), Himanta Biswa Sarma was elected as the Vice-President of Badminton Asia Confederation (BAC).

The election took place during the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the continental body in Bangkok, Thailand.

Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma became president of the Badminton Association of India in April 2018.

World’s first floating nuclear power station

Russia has unveiled the world’s first floating nuclear power station to meet its growing electricity needs.

The ship holds two 35 megawatt nuclear reactors that can produce enough electricity to power a town of 200,000 residents.

It will be primarily used to power oil rigs as Russia pushes further north into the Arctic to drill for oil and gas and needs electricity in far-flung locations.

The Karnataka government led by B.S. Yeddyurappa resigned before facing a crucial trust vote in the assembly.

The floor test was to be conducted after Congress-JD (S) alliance claimed the right to form the government on the basis of the 117 seats it had.

BJP with 104 seats, was eight short of the majority-mark of 111.

BUSINESS

RBI issues guidelines on NSFR

The RBI issued detailed Net Stable Funding Ratio (NSFR) guidelines to ensure that banks maintain a stable funding profile in relation to the composition of their assets and off-balance sheet activities.

The guidelines on NSFR are in line with global norms prescribed by the Basel Committee.

The NSFR would be applicable for Indian banks at the solo as well as consolidated level.

RBI imposed penalty on Cooperative bank

The Reserve Bank of India has imposed a penalty of ₹50,000 on Universal Co-operative Urban Bank, Mancherial, Telangana.

The penalty has been imposed on the bank as it had violated RBI’s directive and guidelines on loans and advances to directors and their relatives.

Urjit Patel is the Governor of Reserve Bank of India which is headquartered at Mumbai.

RBI slaps fine on South Indian Bank

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has slapped a penalty of ₹ 50 million on South Indian Bank Limited for non-compliance with the directions issued by it.

Further, the bank is also pulled up for deficiencies in its compliance function and compliance culture.

SPORTS

Shivangi Pathak Becomes Youngest Indian Woman to Scale Mount Everest

Shivangi Pathak from Haryana has become youngest women of the country to scale Mt Everest.

16-year-old Shivangi climbed the Mt Everest to spread the message that women could overcome any obstacle to achieve their goals.

In 2014, 13-year-old Malavath Poorna from India had climbed Mt Everest from Tibet side and became the youngest girl in the world to the summit at Everest.

APPOINTMENT

Ambika Sharma To Head USIBC India Office

The U.S India Business Council named Ambika Sharma as its head for India. Ms. Sharma was Director General for International at the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI).
Ms. Sharma will be responsible for overseeing and guiding USIBC’s growth strategy in India through its offices in New Delhi and Mumbai, as well as leading the charge on policy advocacy issues for USIBC’s diverse membership with a variety of stakeholders.
DAY

World Hypertension Day observed – 17 May 2018

World Hypertension Day was observed all over the world yesterday on May 17th, 2018.

The objective of observing this day is increasing high blood pressure awareness in all populations around the world.

The World Hypertension Day was first inaugurated in the year 2005 and has become an annual event ever since.

The theme for this year is ‘Know Your Numbers’.

International Museum Day

International Museum Day is held every year on or around 18 May, coordinated by the International Council of Museums.

It aims to raise awareness of the fact that, Museums are an important means of cultural exchange, enrichment of cultures & development of mutual understanding, cooperation and peace among peoples.

Theme chosen for 2018 is “Hyperconnected museums: New approaches, new publics”.

Anti Terrorism Day observed on May 21

Anti Terrorism Day is observed every year throughout the country on May 21.

The Day is observed to generate awareness in the country among all sections of people, about the danger of terrorism and violence and its effect on the people, society and the country as a whole.

Anti-terrorism pledge is taken in all Government offices, public sector undertakings and other public institutions.

International Day for Biological Diversity: 22 May

The International Day for Biological Diversity is observed across the world on May 22, with an aim to raise awareness about the conservation of biodiversity.
The theme of International Day for Biological Diversity 2018 is ‘Celebrating 25 Years of Action for Biodiversity’ as the year 2018 marks the 25th anniversary of the Convention on Biological Diversity.
LIFE

Teams to clean beaches, river fronts

In the build-up to the World Environment Day 2018, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, has formed 19 teams to take up cleaning of beaches, river fronts and lakes in the country.

The teams will include senior officers of MoEF&CC, state nodal agencies in-charge of eco-clubs of schools, State Pollution Control Boards, district administration, college of fisheries located along the coastal stretches and other educational/research institutions.

The Ministry will be engaging Eco-club schools, which are being provided assistance from MoEF&CC under the National Green Corps program.

State Nodal Agencies (SNAs) are the nodal points for implementing the programme of the Ministry in every State.

At the end of the program, the Minister will be awarding certificates titled ‘Green School/college’ to institutions that declare themselves free from plastic pollution.

India is the global host of World Environment Day celebrations 2018, the largest UN-led celebrations on environment.

The theme of this year’s edition of World Environment Day is – “Beat Plastic Pollution”.

‘AYUSH’ word finds a place in English Language

The Commission for Scientific and Technical Terminology has decided to adopt the word ‘AYUSH’ in Hindi and English languages for scientific and technical purposes.

The “AYUSH” became popular as the acronym for five traditional and complementary systems of medicine, namely Ayurveda, Yoga & Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy.

The decision followed a proposal from the Ministry of AYUSH in this regard.

The word ‘ayush’ will have the meaning “Traditional and Non-Conventional Systems of Health Care and Healing which include Ayurveda, Yoga, Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha, Sowa Rigpa, Homoeopathy etc.

It will also give a boost to India’s efforts to find a place for the Indian Systems of Healthcare in the International Classification of Diseases (ICD) of the World Health Organization.

Nipah virus

Recently, the presence of Nipah virus was confirmed in Kerala.

Nipah virus (NiV) infection is a newly emerging zoonosis that causes severe disease in both animals and humans.

The natural host of the virus is fruit bats of the Pteropodidae Family, Pteropus genus.

NiV was first identified during an outbreak of disease that took place in Kampung Sungai Nipah, Malaysia in 1998.

NiV infection in humans has a range of clinical presentations, from asymptomatic infection to acute respiratory syndrome and fatal encephalitis.

NiV is also capable of causing disease in pigs and other domestic animals.

There is no vaccine for either humans or animals.

The primary treatment for human cases is intensive supportive care.

Mission Innovation

Union Minister for Science & Technology, Earth Sciences, Environment, Forests and Climate Change will be leading an Indian delegation for participation in the Mission Innovation Ministerial being held at Malmo-Sweden.

It is the third mission innovation ministerial meeting.

Mission Innovation (MI) is a global initiative of 22 countries and the European Union to dramatically accelerate global clean energy innovation.

India is founding member of Mission Innovation and part of the Steering Committee.

It co-leads innovation challenges on smart grids, off grids and sustainable bio-fuels.

The other innovation challenges are Carbon Capture, Converting sunlight, clean energy materials and Affordable heating and cooling of buildings.

The MI Steering Committee, comprised of member government representatives, provides strategic guidance to foster implementation of the Enabling Framework.

Core administrative functions are carried out by the MI Secretariat, a small, flexible team supporting the Steering Committee.